CHASING THE DRAGON is a new novella by Nicholas Kaufmann, author of the novelette GENERAL SLOCUM'S GOLD, the short story collection WALK IN SHADOWS, and the recent pulp adventure novel GABRIEL HUNT AT WORLD'S END. Kaufmann used to write "The State of the Genre" column here at Fear Zone, and before that I posted his video reading of an excerpt from SLOCUM, which you can still find if you dig around the site. I've also spent a considerable amount of time trapped at the U.S./Canadian border with him; in fact, he first describes this novella to me during one such excursion.

CHASING THE DRAGON is the story of Georgia Quincey, descendant of the dragon slayer St. George, fated to face the same dragon herself. Georgia is also a heroin addict, and the novella is divided between her hunt for the dragon, her need to fix, and flashbacks which set up the central conflict. Georgia's hunt takes her through a series of dead end motels and deader buildings, and she has several frightening encounters with the dragon's undead army before taking on the big gal herself.

It's a visual tale that packs a cinematic wallop and doesn't skimp on the gore; Kaufmann's style, as evidenced in his previous work, is suspenseful and emotional without becoming maudlin. CHASING THE DRAGON's greatest strength is its heroin, who could have fallen into imitation BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER territory. Georgia carries a lot of emotional baggage, but doesn't surround herself with friends who lighten the mood. Her loneliness and desperation set her in a class all her own, and I give Kaufmann props for delivering a lead heroine and a lead villain who are both female.

The geek in me will point out that Marvel Comics once published a comic called ST. GEORGE, which also cast a modern hero in the role of dragon slayer, and the nerd in me adds that Markie Post once starred in an addiction-of-the-week Lifetime TV movie called CHASING THE DRAGON; despite Post's TV-friendly striptease to score, neither of these earlier chases contained the resonance of Kaufmann's dragon tale.

CHASING THE DRAGON is published by Chizine Publications, which is rapidly raising the bar for small press publishers. The trade paperback is a handsome and affordable book, well worth your money.